When Lily Mahy's phone rings or vibrates, the Nixa point guard's best guess is the caller or texter is Lady Eagles coach Jennifer Perryman.
"Most of the time it's her," Mahy said.
Mahy and Perryman can often have a running dialogue throughout the course of an entire day.
"We're always texting," Mahy said. "Sometimes, she will have a play and will text me, 'Take a look at this and tell me what you think' or it can be as random as a pair of shoes, pretty much whatever comes to mind. She definitely relates to me. "
Perryman was a Nixa point guard herself during her playing days and thus enjoys a special bond with her point guards. In Mahy's case, she's already coached her two years and has two more to go.
"I love coaching point guards," Perryman said. "Lily is kind of my right-hand man. We talk all day off the floor and on the floor."
Mahy debuted on the varsity level as a freshman two years ago, seeing limited playing time as a backup. She stepped into a starting role midway through her sophomore season. An injury to classmate Sadie Conway led to increased minutes for Mahy.
Mahy responded well by providing 3-pointers, proving to be a threat to penetrate to the paint and distributing the ball in fine fashion. She finished with averages of 4.5 points and 3.1 assists a game, as Nixa cruised to the COC championship.
"The way it happened wasn't ideal," Mahy said, referring to Conway's injury. "But the opportunity was good. All respect to our seniors last year. They gave me confidence to get in there and do it."
Mahy always has her teammates on her mind and in her sights, making her a perfect fit at point guard.
Perryman calls her a consummate teammate and points out Mahy's social skills and leadership traits haven't gone unnoticed.
"The kids respect her, the kids in our youth program respect her and the parents respect her," Perryman said. "I trust her completely. She has everybody's trust."
Mahy stresses that the relationships she builds with her teammates will be more important to her in the future than anything else upon looking back on her career.
"I want to make an impact. But I don't like to look at stats," Mahy said "You aren't going to remember what you scored or all that kind of stuff. But I am going to remember that I was here to be a good teammate."
